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M
Mr. Ryan Zass
Participant
June 8, 2020
Question

System Performance Components Compare/Contrast Upgrade Options

  • June 8, 2020
  • 2 replies
  • 549 views

I have use After Effects 2020 for Windows 10  on a 1TB Samsung Evo SSD and my allowable cache is set to 200GB. Cpu: i5 4590s 3ghz (3.4ghz w/ intel boost activated). 4 cores and 4 logical processors. Right now I have 20 GB Ram, but I plan to upgrade to at least 32, or perhaps more depending on what I discover.   

But my main issue I believe is that I have an integrated shared GPU, which I'm guessing is the reason I can't get very deep into projects at 1080p and high frame rates containing more than a few comps (or pre-comps). Turning off any un-needed layers, fx and features helps a little but usually not even enough improvement to get the preview to load at even the lowest resolution at a certain point. No other unnecessary apps running either.

My question is what should be my priority in upgrading first? I heard that less cores with having more strength is preferrable over more cores with less punch, given that AE supposedly doesnt distribute to more than 2 cores often. So do I have the correct processor to begin with? Is my money best spent on a new system containing better initial components and expansion capabilities? Or should I grab a high-grade GPU card for this machine with dedicated ram, if so how much ram is enough for larger projects?

I really would like a scope of how each component affects softwares capabilities, and perhaps of some examples of system make-ups that do alright with one or more missing resources. Pros and cons, or any other thoughts you may wish to share with a beginner who hopes to get certified and just an adobe enthusiast who really enjoys this as a hobby as well. Since I do hope to eventually build a career if possible, I am ok with grabbing all the best available today if there are no shortcuts to a better than average machine. 

Thanks in Advance!

 

-Ryan

This topic has been closed for replies.

2 replies

Mylenium
Mylenium
Legend
June 8, 2020

AE's GPU usage is so unsophisticated and underdeveloped, it barely even matters other than for the most basic use case, which is playing a clip with no effects in the timeline. You can effectively kill hardware acceleration even in such a scenario by using a non-accelerated effect. Hence upgrading your GPU will do zilch beyond perhaps improving playback on a few occasions and of course benefiting third-party effects like Sapphire or Element 3D. Outside that you can't coerce AE with hardware. Even your RAM isn't the issue. 20 GB is still plenty for 1080 work. Whatever performance issues you have likely has other reasons, be that AE 2020 just being a piece of garbage or the structure of your project. Having more RAM might postpone the inevitable to a later point, sure, but whether it's worth it is an open question, no matter what.

 

Mylenium

M
Mr. Ryan ZassAuthor
Participant
June 13, 2020

Thank you for the feedback. Do you mind sharing what is your personal solution or platform when creating video clips with modern robust effects? For both Software and Hardware. Who are the other major players in "video-editing"that are commonly preferable to Adobe? Im curious also what is rezpected in the career path of "developer". I guess I always figured Abobe was setting the standard and leading the way. 

Martin_Ritter
Martin_Ritter
Legend
June 8, 2020

AE still depends on high end CPUs with a high clock. A high core count is not preferable and mostly a waste of money. As well as a high-end GPU, since only a few effects are GPU accelerated. In the future, AE will utilize the GPU more and more, but nobody really knows when this will happen.

 

What you need is an i7 or i9 with at least 4GHz base clock. You can also choose for AMD, but only the latest and largest Ryzen can beat an Intel against AE. Next prioity is RAM and 32GB should be the minimum for serious work. More is better.

A didecated GPU is the third priority, but you don't have to go crazy about it, as I already pointed out. A GTX 1080 is already overkill, but gives you room on top for further updates and improvements. Also, you might want to work with Cinema or other software, which is fully GPU accelerated.

It's recommended to have a dedicated drive for cache. A NVMe SSD is a good choice, but a normal Sata SSD will also do it.

 

Also it's worth to invest in a render manager software like RenderGarden. You can launch several render moduls in parallel, which will effectly boost your rendering speed. This method requires a lot of RAM, though.

 

A very good ressource for hardware recommendations is PugetSystems:

https://www.pugetsystems.com/all_articles.php?filter[]=After%20Effects

 

*Martin

M
Mr. Ryan ZassAuthor
Participant
June 13, 2020

Thank you, that is the exact information I was looking for. When taking your recommended CPU specs into account, should I look at only the base clock speed, or the max clock-speed? ...Or both??

 

Assuming i already understand a base clock of 4+ ghz is better, should i Pass-over anythimg that has a base-clock speed less than 4, or can a max clockspeed 4.** Ghz do an outstanding job for big jobs too while the base clock could be under 4?

 

Thanks again!

Martin_Ritter
Martin_Ritter
Legend
June 15, 2020

A base of lower than 4GHz with a boost of above 4GHz should do the job, too.

 

As a rule of thumb: take the CPU with the highest clockspeed you can affort.

 

*Martin

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